Not applicable.
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Not applicable.
The present invention relates to cat litter boxes. More particularly, the present invention relates to transportable litter boxes that can be easily filled with cat litter and cleaned of the cat litter.
House pets, and particularly cats, when confined inside a dwelling for an extended period, require sanitary litter facilities for depositing and containing excrement. Such facilities are known to comprise a receptacle in the nature of a tray partially filled with an absorbent material, typically a particulate clay compound.
Such receptacles pose a number of problems to the householder. The absorbent litter, while suitable for absorbing pet urine, does not typically absorb any substantial portion of the obnoxious odors produced by the excrement of house pets. These odors escape into the surrounding area and become an annoyance to the homeowner and other inhabitants of the dwelling. The sight of soiled litter in a tray is distasteful to inhabitants of the dwelling.
Moreover, pets frequently instinctively attempt to bury their excrement, and in the process often end up broadcasting litter beyond the confines of the tray, where it can become entrapped in carpet fibers. Once litter has migrated into carpeting, it is generally very difficult to remove, reducing the life of carpeting and often adding to the obnoxious odors tending to pervade the area of the dwelling surrounding the receptacle. Such stray litter particles can also be transported to other areas of the dwelling in the treads of shoes, increasing the difficulty of keep the dwelling clean.
Furthermore, in order to retain such receptacle in a sanitary condition and minimize obnoxious odors emanating therefrom, the absorbent litter must be changed regularly. This involves periodically disposing of soiled litter and replacing it with unsoiled litter, a distasteful and messy chore which involves unpleasantly close contact with pet litter soiled by animal excrement. In fact, direct handling of soiled litter poses a danger to women of contacting toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. The receptacle itself must be cleaned with a disinfecting cleaner for maximum sanitization, otherwise a residue of soiled litter particles will adhere to the receptacle walls when the litter is changed, contaminating the fresh litter.
Additionally, most commonly used pet litter contains a very fine particulate element which, when the litter is disturbed, billows into the air, to be inhaled by the unfortunate householder charged with changing the litter before settling all over the surrounding areas.
In the past, various patents have issued for various types of litter box apparatus. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,190, issued on Nov. 10, 1981 to A. Rhodes, describes a litter box with a mechanism for replacing fouled litter which includes a base member supporting a housing for rotation about a transverse axis. The housing includes an open topped lower litter box section and an open bottom upper storage box section in end-to-end engagement with the lower section. A plastic garbage bag is housed in the storage section with its opening border clamped between the confronting faces of the upper and lower sections and a pair of opposed flaps supported by opposite faces of the storage box.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,340, issued on Oct. 5, 1982 to J. R. Strubelt, describes a disposable litter device which includes a shell having a removable lid and an access aperture to the side of the shell. A disposable bag is disposed in the shell and held in place within the shell by the lid. A ring is secured to the bag in the vicinity of the aperture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,935, issued on Dec. 6, 1988 to Bella et al., describes a reformable carton and cat litter housing assembly which is made up of a precut and scored sheet of paperboard which is folded initially into a compact shipping carton containing litter and a plastic bag. The carton is partially unfoldable into a support structure having bottom, side and end walls. The support structure is insertable into the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,605, issued on Aug. 28, 1990 to F. Brown, describes a litter disposal system which comprises a receptacle including a bag and a tray, and a support structure for supporting the bag in a suspended position. The bag is formed with opposed flap portions adapted to be engaged to securing pegs depending from a top frame of the support structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,751, issued on Apr. 4, 1995 to J. F. De La Chevrotiere, describes another pet litter box having a built-in filter. This litter box comprises a base portion which has a litter receiving area and a cover portion which has a screen member attached thereto. The screen member extends below the underside of the cover and is spaced therefrom to define a waste receiving pocket between the underside of the cover and the screening member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,238, issued on Nov. 19, 1996 to R. S. Redman, describes a furniture-like litter box housing in the form of various types of household furniture. The purpose of the housing is to conceal the cat litter box in the home environment. The housing has a rear entrance that is concealed from view. The bottom can have a wheel set up in each corner so as to assist in the stabilization and mobilization of the litter box.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,052, issued on Feb. 11, 1997 to Rood et al., describes a litter box assembly having an open base portion with a litter holding wing portion extending upwardly therefrom and a removable sifting device disposed therein. The sifting device is disposed between a layer of loose litter material. The sifting device is removable from the base portion to remove clumped and fecal matter therefrom while permitting loose litter material to pass therethrough. U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,137, issued on Oct. 20, 1998 to the same inventors, describes a different type of pivotable sifting device for the litter box.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,057, issued on Oct. 24, 200 to B. D. Cummings, describes a litter box which has a base and a snap-on lid. The lid has a recessed opening therethrough to provide access within the litter box. The interior of the lid can include an odor-reducing filter. A removable, disposable liner is provided on the interior of the base so as to facilitate disposal of used litter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a litter box apparatus that can be easily moved from place to place.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a litter box which is pivotable so as to have one orientation for the filling of the litter box and another orientation for use by the pet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a litter box apparatus whereby the pet litter can be maintained on a generally flat surface.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a litter box apparatus which is substantially closed so as to avoid dispersal of cat litter and the odors associated therewith.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cat litter box which is easy to use, relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.
The present invention is a litter box apparatus that comprises a container having an open top and a closed bottom, a lid detachably affixed over the open top of the container and having a hole formed therein, a handle affixed to the container and extending outwardly beyond the lid, and a pair of wheels rotatably mounted adjacent the closed bottom in a location directly below the handle. The container has a first side wall extending between the top and the bottom and an opposite second side wall.
The pair of wheels have a periphery spaced outwardly beyond the first side by a distance generally equal to a distance that the handle extends outwardly beyond the first side wall. The handle has a generally inverted U-shaped configuration. This inverted U-shaped configuration is telescopically mounted to the container.
At least one support member is affixed to the lid and extends into the container. The support member is, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a bent rod extending in proximity to the second side wall. In particular, the support member of the present invention includes a first support member affixed to the lid and extending into the container so as to have a portion adjacent the second side wall, a second support member affixed to the lid and extending into the container on one side of the first support member, and a third support member affixed to the lid and extending into the container on an opposite side of the first support member.
In the present invention, a flexible bag-shaped liner is received within the interior of the container. This liner has an upper edge interposed between the lid and the periphery of the open top. The support member extends into the liner so as to retain the liner in proximity to the second side wall. A quantity of cat litter can be received within the liner. A grip is affixed to an exterior of the second side wall adjacent to the closed bottom. This grip extends outwardly from the second side wall.
In the present invention, the container is set upright on its wheels. The lid can then be removed and a garbage bag placed into the litter box so as to be draped around the periphery of the open top. Cat litter is then poured into the garbage bag and the lid is replaced thereover. The container is then tipped onto its side so that the handle and the wheels support the first side wall in generally parallel horizontal relationship to the underlying floor. The wheel can then be lifted slightly or otherwise manipulated to level out the cat litter within the container.
In order to empty the container, the container is pivoted about the wheels so as to be in an upright orientation and the lid is removed. The garbage bag containing the cat litter can then be closed. The container can then be wheeled to an exterior environment and the garbage bag lifted out of the container for disposal.